Initiation of a Special Issue

Potential guest editors who want to initiate a Special Issue with TAO Journal should submit a proposal to TAO Office (Please contact the Office to get the proposal template. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The proposal should present the scope, its importance, major contents, and time schedule of the Special Issue; it should list all potential contributing authors and the tentative titles of their papers; it should also clearly identify the Leading/Executive Guest Editor and additional ones (up to  four Guest Editors). Please also provide CVs and publication lists of the Guest Editor(s) and any related materials that may help the evaluation of the proposal.

Once the proposal is submitted, it will be reviewed by the TAO Editorial Board. After it is approved by the Editor-in-Chief, the TAO Office will prepare a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to itemize the terms agreed upon by the TAO Editorial Board and the Guest Editors for signing.

Open Announcement of the Special Issue

It is strongly encouraged that the Guest Editors openly announce the Special Issue and solicit for contributions from the science community domestically and internationally. (TAO Journal web page would provide a space for the open announcement.) Contact information for manuscript submission should be clearly identified in the open announcement. Preparation time for authors should be scheduled sufficiently (3-6 months suggested) for submitting their manuscripts.

Selectivity of Papers for the Special Issue

The Guest Editors are responsible for the selectivity of the manuscripts for the Special Issue. The selectivity should be based on scientific quality of the papers and the topic of the paper should clearly fall within the scope of the Special Issue. The Leading/Executive Guest Editor is responsible for the overall content of the issue, which should consist of a coherent and complete set of papers.

Peer Reviewing Process

Guest Editor(s) should be mindful of the strict peer-reviewing process, which is essential to ensure that only quality papers are published.

1. Each paper must be reviewed by at least two specialists (three in case of doubt) and revised in accordance with their comments. The referees should not be included more than one of the contributing authors of the Special Issue, hence, there should be no more than one internal reviewer for each manuscript.
2. If major revision is asked by one of the referees, it is suggested to be reviewed again by at least one referee.
3. Guest Editors should not be involved as first author or co-author for multiple manuscripts included in the Special Issue. (For the leading guest editor, our recommendations are: be involved in 2 papers or less as 1st author; 3 or less as any author.)
4. Guest Editors are not allowed to handle manuscripts with those they are listed as an author or co-author. In case all Guest Editors are involved in certain manuscripts, the responsible Editor should be called to handle such manuscripts.

Time Schedule

It is recommended that the Leading/Executive Guest Editor establishes a time schedule and informs contributing authors of deadlines for the submission. This ensures that the project is not delayed too much. The Leading/Executive Guest Editor should inform the responsible Editor of the status of the project regularly (at least once every three months).

The tentative publication date of this Special Issue will be given on the MOU. However, the final publication date depends on if all the submissions finish its reviewing process. Once the Editor-in-Chief approves the publication of the Special Issue, it shall be published within six months.

Guest Editors should not delay too long for awaiting the rest difficult papers. If the delay from the proposed deadline is more than six months, the Leading/Executive Guest Editor should submit an application of extension to the TAO Office by stating the reason for delay and proposing a new deadline. The application will be reviewed by the Editor-in-chief. If the extension is not approved or the Leading/Executive Guest Editor fails to apply for an extension, the Special Issue might be cancelled. The received papers will be regarded as regular issues.

Number of Pages

The maximum number of printed pages should not exceed 300 pages. On the other hand, if the number of papers is less than eight articles or the printed pages are less than 100 pages, the collected papers may be published in a special section rather than in a Special Issue.

Format

Information of the format for contributors on submission can be reached at http://tao.cgu.org.tw/index.php/submission/guide-for-authors. Please refer all authors to this web page and make sure that they follow the specified formats carefully.

Final Acceptance

The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on acceptance of manuscripts in consultation with Guest Editors. Manuscripts cannot be accepted for publication before they have been subjected to a final evaluation by the Editor-in-Chief. If the manuscript is approved for publication, the author will receive a final acceptance letter via the system by the Editor-in-Chief.

Submit to TAO Office

While the reviewing process for all of the received papers has been finished, TAO Office will require the following information:

1. A Preface of this Special Issue, which should be submitted in *.doc/.docx format.
2. The design of the cover page (optional). Guest Editors are welcomed to design their own cover page for the Special Issue. For more information about the format of designing the cover page, please contact TAO Office.
3. Order of accepted papers for their  appearance in the publication of this Special Issue. If there is no particular order of articles for the Special Issue, the TAO Office will arrange the articles order by their acceptance time.

Publication charge

1. 1 - 12 pages: NT$12000 (US$400) for each article.
2. 13 pages and over: NT$1500 (US$50) per page.
3. All pages will be printed in color without additional fee.